Please be patient with me as we push for major infrastructure & economic reforms—Tinubu begs suffering Nigerians
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has appealed to Nigerians for patience and understanding as his administration pushes forward with major national infrastructure and economic reforms.
Speaking on Saturday during the inauguration of Phase 1, Section 1 of the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway, a 30km stretch of the proposed 750km six-lane project, the president acknowledged the prevailing hardship in the country but assured citizens of eventual relief.
“I know at this stage, your expectation is still very high and our people are still going through difficult times. I take this opportunity to appeal to all Nigerians that the hope is here and it is realisable.”
Promising brighter days ahead, Tinubu said the reforms already underway were beginning to bear fruit.
“You would be proud of the benefits, there is light at the end of the tunnel. Inflation is coming down, the corruption in the exchange rate is eliminated, the corruption in fuel subsidy is limited to the barest minimum.”
He explained that the measures being taken are intended to reduce the cost of doing business in Nigeria and promote local industry.
“It is all for you the people, we are reducing the cost of manufacturing, and encouraging manufacturing locally.”
“We give all incentives for everyone to abide by the principle. May God bless our country; may God bless Lagos State and keep our fighting soldiers safe.”
President Tinubu also used the occasion to issue a stern warning to property developers encroaching on federal land without official authorization.
He made it clear that any structures built on such land would not be compensated.
“Let me at this stage warn all developers, the Federal Government reinforced the setbacks for the interest of our nation, development without approval will not be compensated. We have gazetted and published the setbacks, we are going to enforce it rigidly in every way possible.
Also speaking at the event, Minister of Works David Umahi addressed recent concerns regarding alleged encroachment on the Landmark property during the highway’s construction.
He clarified that only unauthorized shoreline extensions were affected, and that the core infrastructure remained untouched.
“Mr President, I want to state that we did no harm to the Landmark property. It is by your order that we should save as much infrastructure as possible even though they violated the gazetted route.”
“The Landmark infrastructure is intact, what went off was their encroachment on our front shoreline, and the Supreme Court ruled that 250 metres from the shoreline belong to the Federal Government, and so we didn’t do that.”
The minister also revealed that the president had directed state governors to grant a minimum of 500 metres from the road’s edge as part of the highway’s tolling corridor, a move aimed at preserving the project’s integrity.
He explained that, legally, compensation is not required for temporary or informal structures like shanties. Nonetheless, the president had insisted on compensating affected persons to ease hardship.
“By law, the Federal Government was not supposed to pay compensation for shanties along the road, but the President directed that compensation be paid.”
So far, Umahi confirmed that ₦18 billion has been disbursed in compensation for Phase 1 of the project.
